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Month: May 2012

Basically, I have the hide of a rhino, and can test out just about anything. I therefore didn’t think twice about slapping the auld SPF on my face.

Mistake. After two days of doing the right thing, I got a zit on the bottom of my chin — whatever — and one on the front of my face.

Dilemma: will any of the zit-busting treatments that I have react badly with the self-tan I am putting on my face? Is it the self-tan that is making me break out? I have only just made myself all brown and gorgeous, do I need to scrub it off, get rid of the pimple, and start over?

Nope. May I introduce you to Dermalogica’s Concealing Spot Treatment?

I did not find this useful when I wasn’t tanning, because it is too dark for my everyday skin. But as you can see, in yet another weird ass photo of my paw, it is pretty perfect for those with darker complexions, and those who have not come by said complexions naturally.

I had a pic of it blended in, but then you couldn’t even see it, so that’s another point in its favour. Yet another point: it does not contain Benzoyl Peroxide, which tends to dry the sebaceous stuff out, sure, but then your skin is all flaky afterwards. Sulphur and Zinc Oxide are doing the job here, and with the touch of pigment, you can cover up and heal simultaneously.

Spots? The one on my face was gone, daddy, gone, after three applications. The one under my chin is fighting this to the death, but guess who’s gonna win?

Me.

€41.60/£30.50/$25

Love you, Dermalogica, but the difference in price points is shockin’.

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Back in April {April? Holy God, anyone remember April? Not me} I met with Paul Drumgoole to avail of the services of Zeba Hairdressing and to chat with him about the fundraising event he and wife/co-owner Angie were running in aid of Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.

Take a look at that big, fat cheque!

Pictured at the presentation of the cheque to Mr. Michael Earley of Temple Street Children’s Hospital is Zeba Hairdressing co-owners Paul and Angie Dromgoole with their sons Christian and Dean. Zeba Hairdressing raised over €8,600 through its recent ‘Treat Yourself and Help the Children’ fundraising event. All proceeds raised are being put towards the Cleft Lip & Palate Unit at Temple Street Children’s Hospital where Paul and Angie’s son Christian, who has a cleft palate, has received ongoing treatment and support.

That’s just great. Well done to everyone who participated. And My hair is still looking pretty fab. Oh, crap, mid-April, that was like six or seven weeks ago. No wonder the roots are starting to show…

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Let this be a lesson to us all: I had some bad outcomes with the Garnier brand in the past, as regards self-tanning. But that was the past, and we all have moved on, and so when I got a sample of the new No Streaks Bronzer Self-tanning Mousse, I went for it!

No complaints whatsoever. In fact, nothing but praise.

Since I’ve been smart and have been SPFing, my skin took on a little bit of natural, not-burny colour. I know, weird, right?!?! That’s the only encouragement I needed, and the morning after this great discovery, post-shower, I put on my tanning mitt, shook up the bottle and got to work.

I love a good mousse, and this is a good mousse. The coverage is great, there’s enough tint so you can see the bits you’ve missed, it doesn’t stink, and it dries in a fingersnap.

Here’s a freaky picture of my arm, after two applications. I don’t know, can you even tell? Are you completely hypnotised by how little my hand looks?

I need to get a proper camera, because I swear, this is such a good hue. It’s not just about being not-orange, you know. Let’s raise our standards, people!

Besides being not-orange, this is warm and looks utterly natural. It’s €21-ish for 150mls, which seems okay to me. I don’t know, I’ve only just started bronzing, so I don’t know how much things cost this year. I will refer back to the coverage and reiterate that it is great, and so I would expect to get a lot of mileage out of this.

You can’t use this on your face, though. So what did I apply to me gob to make it look glowy and brown? Tune in tomorrow…

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It is with great relief and disproportionate joy that I removed my first week’s worth of the Dr Lewinn RenunailNail Strengthener treatment. Not that it has been bad, not by any means! It’s merely that in the last two days, my nails, which need no help in the looking-manky department, have really started looking crusty.

Now, they are clean and clear, and ready to rest. I’ve cut them all down to the bare minimum length, and will continue to bathe them in Renunail Nourishing Oil.

Actually, I have been lazy about the oil — and so if this programme doesn’t work, I can’t exactly blame the product, can I?!?

My cuticles are still peeling like bananas in a monkey cartoon. Actually, I think they are hangnails? Is that really a term, or did my mum make that up?

So: One week off, back to the nail strengthener for another week, one other week off, and the third and final week. I will have perfect fingernails by the end of June!

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I have all these SPFs I tried out, Sun, and what, now you’re fecking off?!?!

Do you expect everyone to go off on a fantasy holiday to Krk??

Well, anyway: yesterday, I said I was going to cover myself in protection, and so I did.

At €5.99, you get a lotta bang for your buck with Lacura Suncare Moisturising Spray. The Aldi brand always comes through with the excellent price point. The spray action is not so great, unless you are in fact, say, on the deck of ship cruising the Adriatic. It got allll over the place in my house, and all over the clothes, too.

Garnier’s Ambre Solaire Light & Silky Protection Mist SPF 30 {whew!} was another spray that made a mess. Not that I learned from my previous mistake, no: got a fine white film over everything around my right leg. The further away you hold it the better, obviously, but again, I think I’ll be sticking to cream-based SPFs for doing the daily business. This goes for €26.83 which seems pricey.

I had fun with the Stick Sensible from Eau Thermale Avène, so I was happy enough to give their Very High Protection Emulsion 50+ a go. I totally forgot I had put this on, and this is excellent on many levels: it absorbed quickly, it smelled clean, and my skin felt soft afterwards. Only complaint: why so small, my French friends? 50mls seems on the shy side for €22!

La Roche-Posay Laboratoire Dermatologique have the most frustrating packaging on the planet. I didn’t even know what this was for until I unearthed the little brochure thingie that came in the box, that slid out of a sleeve. Their AntheliosAC 30SPF Matte Extreme Fluid is another one that comes in at 50mls, is only slightly less costly at €19and is only for the face. Sheesh. But you know what? It is extremely fluid, and it worked extremely well: my face felt nicely toasted after spending a few hours basking, with nary a nasty patch of red to be to seen.

Well {heaves an enormous sigh}, at least I’ll be prepared when the Sun does decide to come back…

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Hallelujah! I am going to cover myself in sunscreen and come back and tell you all about it.

The thing is, all the sun creams and sprays and mists have to pass a load of tests, right? I mean, no one is going to be able to put something on the market that’s going to result in a lawsuit. Given that, I think the thing about sun care is gonna be all about texture, rate of absorption, and how badly it gets all over your clothes.

Now, ideally, you are sunning yourself on the Dalmatian Coast, and are in your togs, so it doesn’t matter if you get sunscreen all over the place. But if you’re going out at your lunch hour, or planning on sitting out-of-doors to work, and you don’t think ahead and put on some protection before you put on your clothes, then it’s a concern.

I can tell you right this instant that Lidl’s CienSun Cream SPF 20 made it into my horseriding kit bag, and it’s gotten passed around the last few days. It’s coverage isn’t great, and you have to use maybe more than you’d like, but at €2.49, you can go through this for a short cut and it won’t matter. Neither does it absorb very quickly, so one the one hand, it has the potential to get all over your clothes, but on the other, you do a good job of spreading it round, because it takes forever to sink in.

The tube is highly portable, which is why it ended up in the equine rucksack, and it’s a big plus. I’ve got ones sitting on the desk that are massive, which means they will probs get socked into the luggage when I go to Croatia for my hols*, but aren’t going to be useful to me on the local road, if you know what I mean.

Okay! Off to apply myriad products to my limbs and then once more into the breach, my friends!

*I am not going to Croatia, except in my dreams. Hmmm, let’s call this ‘visualisation’ and not ‘fantasising’. ‘kay?

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I don’t know why I keep taking pictures of myself in Deansgrange Public Library.

I think I am still a little squicked by my revolting cuticles, so here’s a picture of The Hair, which received a dollop of Morocanoil’s Curl Defining Cream and an air dry.

I’ve just approved a comment from a reader about how much she loves this stuff too, and since I actually had some in The Hair, and here I am working away with full access to photographic capabilities, it just seemed like kismet.